Today’s been a good day for Final Fantasy fans. The new trailer for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was revealed during today’s Summer Game Fest, finally showing us more of what Square Enix has in store for the second chapter of its re-imagining of a legendary game, and there are some bonkers curve balls.
Summer Game Fest closed out the showcase with a real banger. After a year of waiting, Final Fantasy VII fans got a very thorough look at the remake’s sequel, from the hybrid action combat to familiar scenes recreated with stunning new graphics. Square Enix confirmed that Rebirth will arrive in early 2024 and be so big it needs two discs. Considering the game will take players all the way up through the infamous Nibelheim Incident, fans appear to be getting their money’s worth. (And hey, after all, the original Final Fantasy 7 on PS1 came on three discs, so this is just walking in those storied footsteps.)
Take a look at the new trailer for yourself:
The part that will be ringing in players’ ears for months to come was a cryptic message from Sephiroth as Tifa is struck down in the Mako Reactor. In the original game, Cloud’s kick-boxing childhood friend survives the encounter, but the remake has been all about playing off of what ifs and alternative scenarios, and Rebirth seems to be going for broke by implying Tifa might actually die, or perhaps even be reincarnated as some version of Jenova, the alien life form threatening the planet throughout the game.
During Final Fantasy VII’s 25th Anniversary livestream back in 2022, Square Enix confirmed that 2020's Final Fantasy VII Remake was the first of a trilogy of games, with the second installment of the franchise being christened Rebirth.
Read More: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Continues Retelling The RPG Classic In Winter 2023
Part one of this trilogy, Final Fantasy VII Remake, was unafraid to mess with the OG RPG’s timeline of events. While the ending of Remake left a lot of folks scratching their heads in confusion as to where things might go from there, the opening moments of FFVII Rebirth’s “first look” trailer sent fans into orbit with scenes of Cloud and Sephiroth frolicking in the woods, and a shot of Gongaga’s favorite son walking Cloud to safety.
Final Fantasy VII Remake and its sequels are quite different from mere remasters, featuring new story elements that expand on the original plot from 1997 and the many side stories told in games like Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII over the years. As such, fans have long speculated about what this new addition to the story might mean for the fates of certain characters.
Read More: Crisis Core - Final Fantasy VII - Reunion: The Kotaku Review
The third installment of the FFVII Remake trilogy, currently unnamed, will be released in the future.
Kotaku is covering everything Summer Game Fest, from the main show on Thursday to other events happening throughout the next week. Whether you’re into larger-than-life triple-A games or intimate, offbeat indies, you can keep up with all things SGF here.